Alternatives
by Drizzt1138
Summary: Luke Skywalker and his companions go to face Darth Caedus, only to find themselves in an alternate universe where some friends still live, others are now dead, and there is a new enemy to face: Kylo Ren and the First Order. This is my attempt to show that the old and new canons can coexist. Rated for violence. Please PM with any and all questions, comments and concerns.
1. Chapter 1

Alternatives

A Star Wars Fanfic

Luke Skywalker flew his StealthX fighter towards the Jedi Coalition fleet in orbit nearby. His niece, Jaina, and his son, Ben, joined him in fighters of their own. The Millennium Falcon was also nearby, with Han Solo and his wife Leia on board. Their mission was a grim one. They were off to confront his nephew, Jacen- or as he was calling himself now, Darth Caedus- above the planet Roche. As he punched in the hyperspace coordinates, there was complete silence. No one really wanted to speak on the subject of their common family member who had turned to the dark side, so no one did. But still, thoughts of him loomed within all their minds, and they could all feel it through the Force.

Luke and the others had received a vision through the Force just an hour earlier, showing them that Caedus would be near Roche that day. Deciding that it was an opportunity they could not waste, they had begun planning the attack immediately. Now the fleet began moving into position, and the nav-computers had been programmed to take them to Roche. Soon the stars around them were melting into lines of light, and then waves, as they made the jump into hyperspace.

Luke tried to keep his thoughts from straying too much as he watched the waves of light go past. He tried to slow his breathing, attempting to slip into a meditative state. He hoped to gain some form of guidance, insight, anything that would help him in the coming conflict. Unfortunately, his concentration was broken when a huge shockwave shook his fighter, causing the instruments to go wild. He frantically tried to regain control of his ship, yelling into his comlink, "Jaina! Ben! Can you hear me? Something's wrong with my ship!"

"Mine too!" Jaina responded, and he heard Ben and Han start to reply as well when all of a sudden the shaking stopped. The instruments also normalized. There was a very brief silence, and then everyone started asking questions. Jaina's voice was the loudest; "Calm down, everyone! We need to figure out what that was. Should we come out of hyperspace here?"

Luke listened to her, and replied, "Jaina's right. We should probably stop and check our ships for damage. Everyone end your jump on my mark…"

* * *

Darth Caedus stood on the bridge of his flagship, the _Anakin Solo._ He considered the vision he had received just an hour previously. In it, he had seen the planet Roche, wreathed in light. He took it as a sign to mean that he should look there for some new power, some way to bring about some greater good. Now his crew was setting a course for the planet.

He was snapped out of his reminiscing by one of the members of his crew approaching him for a report. "What is it?" The Sith Lord demanded.

"We're making the jump to hyperspace, sir," The crewman said.

"Is that all?" Caedus asked.

"Yes, sir." The crewman seemed more than a little nervous as he walked back to the control center. Caedus watched him go, then moved his gaze to the windows as they made the jump. He was just slipping back into the pattern of his ruminations when there was a great shudder that swept throughout the ship. Alarms sounded from every direction, and over them he shouted, "What is going on?! Damage report, now!"

"We have no idea, sir! The ship is just going haywire! We're-" By the second to last word, the shaking had stopped, and the crewman realized he no longer needed to yell. Lowering his voice, he continued, "…we… we were trying to stabilize the ship… but it would seem there is no need for that now."

Caedus looked out the viewport, watching the streaks of light pass by. "Bring us out of hyperspace. I want a full damage report in twenty minutes. I want to know exactly what caused that, and what is wrong with my ship." On his command, the streaks once again became points, and they found themselves in completely unfamiliar territory.

* * *

As Luke and the others came out of hyperspace, it became immediately clear that something was off. Despite the fact that all their other instruments were working perfectly fine, their star-charts were completely blank. Those of them who were Force-sensitive also immediately noticed something… different. They could feel it, subtly yet undeniably.

The next clue they got was the voice over their comlink, one that sounded strangely familiar. "Unidentified vessels, this is New Republic command post THX-1138. Please state your identity and affiliation immediately."

Luke felt a wave of confusion through the Force. None of them had ever heard of that outpost. He decided to speak up first. "This is Master Luke Skywalker of the Jedi Council. Request permission to land, command post THX-1138."

There was a short silence from the other end. Then the voice came back on the line. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible… Luke is in the other room, training Rey. Now please, tell us who you really are, and we will decide whether or not you can land."

He felt another wave of confusion. "I repeat, this is Master Luke Skywalker of the Jedi Council. May I ask who I'm speaking to?"

"This is Leia Organa of the New Republic."

Luke's mind was still reeling as he vaguely heard Leia's voice- his Leia's voice- over the comlink, saying, "Excuse me, I think you're mistaken. I'm Leia Organa Solo, and I order you to let us land at once!"

"Leia, calm down!" Luke interjected. "Now, Leia… the other Leia… Please just let us land, and we can all figure this out together, ok?" He felt a little guilty for adding in some Force mind-influence to his plea, but it seemed to work well enough.

"Fine," The other Leia said. "You have permission to land in docking bay C-16. As soon as you do, I will lead a greeting party to join you, and we can find out what's going on here."

* * *

Darth Caedus' first encounter with the First Order was even messier than Luke's initial meeting with the New Republic.

As soon as they came out of hyperspace, they were set upon by several squadrons of TIE fighters. The fighters began firing at them, and as soon as Caedus saw this he gave the order to return fire. The turbolasers went off several times, and soon a large number of the attacking forces had been blown to smithereens. Of course, they weren't the only attacking forces; soon they came within scanning range of a large star destroyer. As they did, one of the crewmen gave a report; "Sir, we've picked up a capital ship on our scanners. It's hailing us now, but… sir, it's not identifying as an Imperial Remnant ship."

Darth Caedus mulled this over for a few seconds. "Patch them through," He said. Soon one of the nearby viewscreens showed a man in a black mask and robes. Caedus reached out in the Force, searching for the figure he was observing on the screen. He found the presence fairly quickly; the man seemed to be incredibly strong in the Force, stronger than almost anything he had sensed before. And yet he also sensed a great deal of fear, insecurity, and angst. "Who exactly are you? Who are you affiliated with, and why are you firing on us?"

Despite all the fear Caedus had sensed, the masked figure did not hesitate to answer. "I am Kylo Ren of the First Order. My fighters attacked you because you are flying a star destroyer under false colors. I don't know whether you stole it or built it yourself, or even acquired it through some other means, but regardless you are guilty of flying a New Order ship without the approval of Supreme Leader Snoke. As such, you will be destroyed unless you immediately surrender to us."

The Sith lord was outraged. However, he also saw no good ways of getting out of this engagement alive. Not through battle, at least. "This is Darth Caedus of the Galactic Alliance. Now I don't know what this 'First Order' is, but I will not surrender to a craven like you. However, I will submit to a temporary parley, during which we can discuss matters with a more level-headed atmosphere."  
He felt a small degree of satisfaction ripple through the stranger, although there were a few undercurrents of offense. Something about him felt… familiar. "While I am normally not one to bargain, I will honor your request. For now; know that if you make a single false step- including insulting me again- you will not survive this. Do I make myself clear?"

Darth Caedus tried his best to keep from feeling too smug about the fact that his plan was working, in case the newcomer could sense his emotions as well. He also hoped that this Kylo Ren would not be able to sense the half-truth in his response; "Crystal clear. There will be no trouble on my part."

* * *

When the Jedi landed in the docking bay, a very strange sight greeted them. Luke got out of his StealthX and came face to face with someone who appeared to be himself, although the newcomer had grown a beard. They studied each other for a bit, sizing each other up with their eyes as well as through the Force. It was an incredibly bizarre experience for both of them.

Suddenly they were interrupted as the entry ramp to the Millennium Falcon lowered and Han and Leia entered the hangar. As they did, Han's face lit up. "Chewie!" He shouted, running towards the group of newcomers, towards his old first mate. Chewbacca growled in excitement, running up to his old friend, and soon they were caught in each other's embrace, Han saying, "Oh, Chewbacca, I missed you so much…"

Leia, the other Leia who had suffered through the death of her husband so recently, also came up to him, and hugged him as well. When they finally pulled apart, she asked, "Is it really you, Han? I- I can't believe it's really you, I thought- I thought Kylo Ren killed you!"

Han looked at her in confusion. "Kylo Ren? Who is that? I've never even heard of him."

Leia sighed. "He's… our son. Ben Solo. He turned to the dark side, and… he killed you. But now you're back!" She glanced over at the other Leia. "With… me?"

Han tried his best to explain. "I've seen some really weird stuff, but this really wins the prize for most confusing. Leia, back where I- back where we came from, our son is named Jacen. Our eldest son, at least. Anakin- he died. And Jacen is the one who's turned to the dark side, calling himself Darth Caedus. His twin sister, Jaina- well, you can see her for yourself." As he said this, Jaina came up behind him, saying hello to the woman who looked a lot like her mother.

As the others tried to sort out what had gone wrong- they were eventually able to make a connection between the hyperspace anomaly and the appearance of the doppelgangers- Luke turned back to his twin. "Where's Mara?"

The bearded Luke looked at him in confusion. "Who?"

"Mara Jade," he pressed, "My wife. Your wife. The mother of Ben, your child," He said, gesturing towards his son. "Where is she?"

The confusion turned to concern. "I'm sorry… I've never known a woman named Mara Jade. I've never even had a wife, or a son."

Luke felt a wave of sorrow. How could this happen? Why would there be such a cruel turn of fate? He tried his best to calm himself down, breathing slowly and deeply. "My nephew… Darth Caedus, he killed her. Since Han and Chewbacca were reunited… I thought maybe the Force had found some way to reunite me with Mara."

Before the other Luke had the chance to give his counterpart his condolences, however, the others approached them. "We have a plan to keep things from getting too confusing," Han said. "Since my Leia uses the name Solo, we'll call her Leia Organa Solo, or just Leia Solo. The other one will be Leia Organa. And then our Luke, the one without the beard, will be Luke Jade Skywalker, or just Luke Jade, because of his wife." Luke flinched a bit at the name of his lost lover, but nodded all the same.

"We also have another plan," Leia Organa said. "A plan to take down the First Order."

* * *

Kylo Ren and Darth Caedus stood side by side aboard the bridge of the _Anakin Solo_ ; they had spent the past few hours making negotiations, and now they had finally reached a consensus. "Well," The former said, "Shall we begin?"


	2. Chapter 2

Alternatives

Chapter 2

Luke and the members of his family gathered in an empty briefing room soon after meeting, making sure no one saw them along the way. If word got out that there were multiple Luke's and Leia's running around, thing would most likely get more than a little complicated. At least for now, they wanted to keep their existence a secret.

Jaina, Han, Chewbacca and Leia Solo all sat in a group, discussing all that had happened. Ben sat silently next to his father, breathing slowly and deeply, eyes closed. The other Luke was doing the same; it was rather strange to watch, and yet at the same time it seemed almost logical. If Ben was so similar to his father, it would be fitting for him to be similar to this newcomer who shared his father's face, voice, and mannerisms.

As Luke Jade Skywalker pondered this, Leia Organa came into the room, followed by a young man in a spacer's outfit and a similarly young woman in the tunic of a Jedi Apprentice. She introduced them as Fin, a defector from the First Order, and Rey, Luke Skywalker's new padawan. After this, she said, "Let's begin planning what to about this new… situation. Any ideas come to mind?"

Jaina stood. "I would suggest we reveal ourselves to the galaxy. That way, we will not have to move in secret. Furthermore, we can use it to our advantage on a political level. If the Force has brought us together, there must be a reason for it. My best guess; we're here to defeat this First Order and bring peace back to your galaxy. If we state that this is the will of the Force, others will most likely rally to our cause."

Up to this point, Rey and Fin had seemed more than a little shocked to see Han again, not to mention the fact that there were currently two separate versions of Luke and Leia in front of them. However, once Jaina was done speaking Rey stood up to share her own ideas. "While your views seem valid, Jaina, I'm not sure that it would be the best idea to reveal your presence at the moment. For one thing, such a revelation could cause quite a bit of confusion. For another, it's not the most believable story; the First Order could call us out, claiming that we spread lies and propaganda in the place of fact."

While the group thought this over, Han decided to speak his piece. "I think our first concern should be getting back home. This isn't our war, and really, what good can we do? A few Jedi and a former smuggler? I'm not sure staying is the best option for us."

Luke Skywalker had a counter point. "While you may not be many, I still think you could be a great help. The Jedi Order has not been rebuilt in our galaxy yet. True, you only have a few Jedi with you, but a few Jedi is more than we have to fight against Kylo Ren and his forces."

Now it was Jade Skywalker who stood to speak. "I agree with my counterpart and Jaina. I think that there's a lot of good that we can do here. Besides, even if we were to try and get back home, where would we start? We have no idea what exactly brought us where, and no idea how to get back. And we won't get the opportunity to focus fully on the issue while the First Order is still in play. All in all, I think it's best that we stay, if only for a while." The others agreed in the end, some more reluctantly than others.

* * *

Darth Caedus and Kylo Ren stood on the bridge of the _Anakin Solo_ , watching as the crews of First Order workmen re-outfitted the star destroyer in the style of the faction. It did not please Caedus to see his flagship defiled so, but his new ally had insisted that it was necessary. Otherwise, Ren had claimed, any First Order ships they came upon would open fire as he had on their first meeting.

"I intend to reveal my presence to your galaxy tomorrow," The Sith Lord announced, his tone very simple and matter-of-fact.

Kylo Ren turned to him on the spot. "Why would you do that? What could you gain? I thought your kind were used to working in secret, never being too overt in their operations."

"Some of us, yes," Caedus replied, "But not I. I intend to rally more troops to our cause. Once the citizens of the galaxy see that there is once again a Sith Lord in the seat of power, they will flock to join us. People will always want to be on the winning side, and once I mobilize our forces to strike once more upon the New Republic, they will see that we are, in fact, the winning side."

The other dark-sider considered this. "I do see your point. Still, I feel you must be careful. Do not reveal your true origins. If you do, it can only cause chaos. If you feel you must reveal yourself, fine, do as you please. But do not reveal yourself in your entirety. There is not benefit to that at this time."

He gave Ren a reassuring look. "Of course not. Worst-case scenario, I'll just claim I am some remnant of a long lost sect or something. Trust me, I know how to handle this. Where I come from I was quite the competent leader." He could still sense the uncertainty floating around his ally like a cloud, but that was always there.

* * *

Luke was rather nervous as he prepared to face the press. He had gotten very good a public speaking as time had passed, but this was something entirely different. This wasn't just coming in front of people to tell them how a battle had gone, or about his thoughts on the newest workings in the senate. This was coming out and saying, 'Hi, I just came from an alternate world and I have no idea how I got here.' It was an understandably stressful plight.

As he straightened his robes, he heard Leia Organa on stage introducing him; his cue to go and join her. With a deep breath, he walked out to meet her, trying his best to ignore the rather large crowd of unfamiliar faces until the last possible second. A few clapped, but most just whispered amongst themselves.

Clearing his throat, he began to speak into the microphone. "I know you're all going to have some questions for me, and I will try to answer those in a second. First, I would like to make it clear that I have no idea what brought my family and I here. However, I do believe that it was the will of the Force. I also believe that the Force brought us here with a purpose in mind. That purpose would be to assist you in defeating the First Order, a mission that we will carry out by any means at our disposal."

One of the reporters dared to raise her hand first, and Luke gestured to her in answer. "In what way are you related to the Jedi Luke Skywalker who destroyed the Death Star and helped defeat the Emperor?"

Luke paused to contemplate this question for a bit. "Well, as far as we can tell, we're pretty much the same person. I've discussed it with him at great length. Back where I came from, I also destroyed the Death Star and helped to defeat the Emperor. But at some point after that, things seem to have gone differently for the two of us."

Given courage by the first reporter's initiative, a second one raised his hand as well. "Where exactly did you come from? When do you plan on going back, and how?"

"Well, we hope to go back as soon as our task is completed. However, we do not exactly know how to get back. We intend to find a way to go back, but we do not know how successful we would be. It could turn out that we're trapped here forever, but there's really no way of knowing." This caused even more whispering to ensue.

The questions were coming much more quickly now. "What are your intentions for Kylo Ren? Do you mean to capture him, kill him, convert him…?"

Luke adjusted his robes a bit more; he was getting a bit hot under the glare of the lights. "That would most likely be a better question for my counterpart, the Luke Skywalker from your galaxy. We will most likely try to bring him back to the light first, but there is no guarantee that will work. If this is the case, we will most likely try to capture him and then work from there."

"When exactly was it that things changed for you?" The next reporter asked. "That is, how is your world different from ours?"

"Well as I mentioned before, we both helped in the effort to take down the Empire. However, after that point things seem to have been quite different. There are many points where the two 'timelines', if you will, diverged. For example, from what I gather you never had a conflict with the Yuuzhan Vong- aliens from outside the known galaxy. We did, and Chewbacca was killed in the process. There are also differences in our children. The Luke Skywalker you know never married and had kids, but I did. Unfortunately, my wife was killed by my nephew, a young man named Jacen Solo. Although by the time we came here, he had been calling himself Darth Caedus." By the time he had finished, the room was in an uproar.

"That's all the time we have for questions," Leia said as she gestured for Luke to leave the stage.

* * *

Darth Caedus walked out onto the stage, a large red banner bearing the symbol of the First Order behind him. Below him was a sea of white armor, hundreds- no, thousands- of stormtroopers. _And soon they will all be under my command,_ he thought.

As he stepped up to the podium, he could feel the fear and confusion among the troops. He imagined how he could cultivate and use this fear to make them work for him. And it would all start with the words he was about to say. He folded his arms behind his back and began to speak. "Good evening. My name is Darth Caedus. And I am the heir to this wonderful Empire the Sith have cultivated."

"I realize that for some of you the transition may be hard," He continued, "But I am sure you will all adapt to it soon enough. You see I come from a different world." There was silence at this point, as there always was among such disciplined troops, but he could feel their confusion. "It was the will of the Force that I came here. It was the will of the Force that I lead you into battle. For where I come from, I am a leader. Therefore, here I shall lead as well. I shall lead you all to glory and victory! Together, we will crush this travesty that calls itself the New Republic, and restore a new order to the galaxy. For the First Order!"

The stormtroopers below him gave a mighty cry, each throwing one arm in the air in a mighty salute. The very ground shook with their cheer, and Caedus exulted in it. It had been even easier to win them over than he had expected. Soon, this galaxy would be his.

* * *

In order to make them more comfortable, Leia Organa had given her new allies quarters in the base where they could rest in private when they needed to. Luke was meditating in his own room when she knocked the door and entered without waiting for a response. "Luke, I'm afraid I have some bad news," She said. Luke braced himself for the worst, but he was still caught off-guard by what she had to say. "Your nephew is here, in our galaxy. I don't know how he got here too, but he's joined the First Order. In fact, he's helping to _lead_ the First Order."

Luke took a second to digest this fully. Once he had, the answer was as clear as day to him. "We need to plan an attack. Now."

Leia looked at him in concern. "Are you sure? I don't think we're really in any position to go on the offensive right now."

Her brother- yes, he was her brother, despite the fact that they came from different galaxies- looked back at her. "I am completely, totally certain. Jacen- Darth Caedus- whatever you want to call him. He's a threat to everything we hold dear. My family and I got here during preparations for an attack we were planning on launching on his forces. I knew it then, and I know it now; Darth Caedus must be destroyed."

The lines of worry on her face deepened. "The same way he destroyed Mara Jade Skywalker, is that it? Is this really about how dangerous he is, or is it about how he killed your wife?"

Luke was starting to get frustrated now. "Why can't it be about both? She was his family, Leia, and he cut her down without a second thought!"

"Luke, this is taking you down a path you shouldn't follow. I'm not that skilled in the Force, but I can feel the hatred within you, poisoning your thoughts. Please, let go of it. There has to be another way for you to deal with Jacen. Because deep down, he is your nephew, somewhere in there." He fell silent, and she left him then to let him think about what she had said.

* * *

Kylo Ren was in one of his fits of rage again. His troops had seen it many times, and they still feared it. It's no small wonder that if they could still fear it, the troops Darth Caedus brought with him were completely terrified when they saw it. But Caedus himself was not. He found it fascinating. So much anger and hatred built up in one person, towards himself, towards others, towards everything. Just waiting to explode.

Ren pointed an accusatory finger at his supposed ally while the other hand activated his lightsaber. "I told you that you could reveal yourself, not that you could take over my command!" He shouted. "Not to mention the fact that there are now two different versions of Luke Skywalker for me to deal with, now I have to contend with your blasphemy!"

 _So he has heard too_ , Caedus realized. When he had first heard the news, it had been quite the shock. And yet somehow he had known that his uncle would have found some way to chase him, even across the boundaries of separate galaxies. The Sith Lord welcomed that fact; he was eager to confront his family again. This time, his victory would be a certainty with the First Order behind him.

His compatriot continued his rampage, using the Force to lift a chair out from under a nearby crewman. He pulled it towards him and started using his lightsaber to slash it to pieces, shouting, "I will not yield to that weakling, no matter how many of him there are! And I will never. Yield. To _you!"_ On the last word, he spun around and hurled the pieces of the chair at Caedus.

The Sith Lord had seen this coming, and used his own force powers to block it. He tried his best to remain calm and collected, but stopping the projectiles took a lot out of him. Still, he somehow managed to retain an outward appearance of being in control, and therefore he was in control, as he always was. The pieces of the chair twirled in mid-air between them. "And I will never bow to a coward like you." He clenched his fingers into a fist, and as he did the debris crumpled into even smaller pieces, to small to do any harm. Then he pulled his fist down, and the rubble fell to the ground. "Now," He said as he did this, "Put that silly thing you call a lightsaber away and let us continue discussing the fall of the New Republic."

Ren was breathing heavily, still full of burning, raging energy. But he still had some semblance of self control- or was it Caedus who was in control? Regardless, he turned off his lightsaber and put it away on his belt. Darth Caedus remained neutral as he did this, but on the inside he was celebrating an apparent victory.


	3. Chapter 3

Alternatives

Chapter 3

In docking bay C-16, Luke Jade Skywalker and his companions gathered around a holo-chart showing the Sullust system. In orbit around the planet were several icons representing First Order star destroyers, including Darth Caedus' flagship, the _Anakin Solo._ Luke studied the chart silently as Leia Organa briefed them on their mission. She indicated him and the people who had come with him as she said, "You and your StealthX squadron will be referred to as Jade Squadron for the purposes of this mission. Luke, you'll be Jade Leader, Han will be Jade Two, Jaina will be Jade Three, and Ben will be Jade Four. The other Luke- our Luke- will be leader of Red Squadron. Chewbacca will be Red Two, Rey will be Red Three, and Finn will be Red Four."

"The plan is fairly straightforward. We'll come out of hyperspace somewhere in front of the First Order fleet and attack them head on. You'll be accompanied by several other squadrons of X-wings and as many capital ships as we could muster, but your two squadrons are going to be the key part of our forces. Your job is to break through their lines, infiltrate the _Anakin Solo_ , and put an end to all this." As she said this, her point was illustrated by two groups of dots appearing on the holo-chart, representing Red Squadron and Jade Squadron. The dots went "onboard" the _Anakin Solo_ , and as they did it enlarged to show the interior of the ship. The dots then moved up to the bridge, where their target would most likely be waiting.

"When we reach Darth Caedus and Kylo Ren, how are we to deal with them?" Rey asked.

Leia glanced over at Luke. "As we told the press, we intend to capture them alive if possible. Try to convert them to our cause if possible, but that isn't particularly likely. That being said, we should try and capture them if possible; both would be great assets to the war effort. If you can't do that… eliminate them. Any other questions?" No one posed any. "In that case, get to your fighters so we can get this operation started. May the Force be with you all."

At her word, they all went to their ships. Luke barely remembered doing the pre-flight diagnostics, or even taking off, but the next thing he knew they were in position to make the jump to hyperspace. But there he was, and Ben was on the comlink, asking, "Dad, are you alright? We're all ready to make the jump, whenever you give the word."

Luke snapped back into reality. "Right, sorry. Make the jump on my mark. Three… Two… One… Mark!" And with that word came the finality and possibility of a new mission.

* * *

 _Why am I even dealing with these want-to-be-Sith charlatans anyway?_ Darth Caedus wondered, even as he politely said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Supreme Leader Snoke."

"The feeling is mutual," The leader of the First Order replied. "I sense that you have great power within you… as well as that you come from quite a long way away."

 _Right, you sense it. More like you saw the news report._ "Yes, Supreme Leader. In fact, I come from an entirely different galaxy. Although as to how I got here, I couldn't tell you."

"I see… Well, I've heard of stranger things in my time." He turned to Kylo Ren. "Well, is there anything else to report? Or did you just wish to waste my time with your new… 'friend'?"

He lowered his head in a bow, and Caedus mirrored the action. "Nothing more, my lord. I just thought you would be pleased with this new asset I have recently acquired."

Snoke nodded. "Indeed, I am. However, I have more pressing matters to attend to. So, if that is all, you are dismissed." With that, the holo-projector shut off, and they were alone again.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, neither one moving at all, until Kylo Ren finally decided to speak first. "You… didn't tell him about our little… incident."

"Nor did you tell him about how much power I've… acquired since I got here," Caedus replied. He looked over to see the other still unmoving, then got up to take his leave.

Before he left the chamber, however, General Hux came into the chamber. He nodded briskly to the Sith Lord. "My lords, there is a fleet of New Republic ships engaging our forces."

* * *

As soon as they came out of hyperspace, Luke said into his comlink, "Jade Squadron, form up around me and lock your fighters in attack position. We're going to cut a path straight to the _Anakin Solo._ " The other pilots did as he said. As he looked out his cockpit, he noticed that Red Leader had given similar orders; their two squadrons were in almost identical positions.

Soon enough they spotted TIE fighters started pouring out of the star destroyers ahead of them, all of them sporting the colors of the First Order. However, just because they had new colors didn't mean they were any more- or less- deadly.

Jade Squadron stayed in formation as they made hard contact with the enemy fighters, blasting their way straight through the vanguard. Bits of durasteel and tongues of flame wreathed Luke's ship as he flew through the wake of the enemy fighters. He seemed almost invincible- for a time.

Soon a group of interceptors got sight of them and began to give chase. As one got a missile lock on him, alarms started sounding around him. "I'm taking evasive maneuvers," He told the others. "Let's break formation so we're not as big a target and regroup once we get to the _Anakin Solo._

Once they split off from one another, things got a bit more difficult. While it saved him from the interceptor's missile, it also stripped him of the mutual protection of the group. Now several enemy ships had their sights on him, and he was struggling to shake them off. Things only got worse when he realized one of them wasn't a First Order pilot. It was his nephew.

* * *

It was incredibly bizarre for Darth Caedus, seeing two separate versions of his father's ship flying at the same time. They were each flying in a different squadron, one of X-wings and the other of StealthX fighters. They were heading straight for his position, and for a second he pondered whether or not he should take them head-on. However he decided against this, and decided to take them from behind.

He flew his own StealthX straight into the swarm of New Republic fighters. At first some did not fire on him at first, thinking that he was one of the fighters they were escorting. However, this changed fairly quickly when he began firing on them, blowing several X-wings out of the sky before they could gain their bearings.

Soon enough he was in a full-out dogfight, cutting through the front of the New Republic forces like a lightsaber through tin foil. A few gave chase, and one or two even got a shot in, but the few blaster bolts that did hit were absorbed by his shields. For the most part, though, they were distracted by the horde of TIE fighters that were upon them now.

Now he turned around, heading back towards his flagship and the two squadrons that were headed towards it. As he did, he was followed by a few fighters who peeled off from the main group and started to attack him.

The Sith Lord considered his options. He could turn around and confront his attackers, but that would give his quarry and even longer lead. On the other hand, he could keep chasing them and let the X-wings behind him slowly chip away at his shields and eventually get a hit on his engines or some other vital component of his ship.

In the end, he chose neither option. Instead, he cut his engines, slowing to a stop. The enemy fighters kept on going, not realizing what he had done. By the time they did, they were already in front of him, right in his line of fire. A few quick strikes with the StealthX's cannons and the attacking fighters were no more.

With that issue out of the way, he moved on to more pressing matters. Starting up his engines again, he soon caught up with his uncle's squadron. He was about to fire a missile or two in an attempt to end things quickly, but before he could Luke's fighter split off from the others and spun away on a separate course.

Caedus followed, weaving his ship in between enemies and allies alike. It was difficult to navigate, especially with his target swerving back and forth in an attempt to loose him. However, he had inherited no small amount of skill as a pilot from his father and grandfather, and was able to keep up with his uncle even when the TIE fighters fell away.

Unfortunately, he was not able to get close enough to get a shot in, and soon Luke had regrouped with his squadron. From there they made it on to the _Anakin Solo_ as Caedus looked on, unable to stop them. However, this was only a minor deterrence. Sooner or later he would catch up; this just meant there would be a change of battlefield.

* * *

Thankfully Luke's StealthX fighter had lived up to its name. Once they lost the TIE fighters following them, he and the other members of his squadron were able to get in under the _Anakin Solo's_ defenses fairly easily, and soon they had landed in the main hangar bay.

Unfortunately, things got a bit more complicated once they were on the ship. Their cloaking devices worked well enough on a ship's sensors, but the stormtroopers in the hangar had eyes, eyes that were not fooled quite as easily. As Luke got out of the cockpit, he found himself completely surrounded by First Order troops, each and every one of them pointing a blaster his way.

Slowly, without making any sudden movements, he raised his hands in surrender. The others did the same as an officer from the ship stepped forward, looking very pleased with himself. "I had heard the reports, but I thought they were just propaganda…. I never would have actually thought…" He looked back and forth between Luke and the man who shared his face. He had a look of twisted curiosity on his face, like he wanted to cut them open and see if he could determine some great secret from them. Then he turned to one of the stormtroopers. "Alert Kylo Ren. Tell him we've got them."

Just then, another StealthX fighter entered the hangar. Although this time, it was Darth Caedus who exited the ship. As the Sith Lord walked over the them, the officer's expression soured dramatically. "That will be all, General Hux," Caedus said. "I will deal with them myself."

The General had to grope around for the words a bit before he could find them. "Sir, they were captured by the First Order. Therefore, they are under our jurisdiction, not yours."

Caedus gave him a look of derision and superiority, and General Hux stood down, albeit reluctantly. "I will decide who is under whose jurisdiction, General. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," The officer replied sullenly.

Before Caedus could continue, the entire ship shuddered underneath their feet, knocking most of them to the ground. Luke was able to keep his footing, and smiled; Han's plan had worked. The ion detonators he had set up near the engines during the battle had gone off, and now the ship would be heading straight on a crash course for Sullust. He and the others made for their fighters, but then they realized they were cut off by a black-robed, masked figure; Kylo Ren.

* * *

Darth Caedus was almost as outraged by the trickery as his compatriot was. He should have noticed something was amiss based on the fact that neither version of the _Millennium Falcon_ had been in the hangar, but at the time he had assumed that his father and Chewbacca were still caught up in the dogfight. Regardless, at least he had an outlet for his rage this way.

As soon as he regained his footing, he activated his lightsaber and lashed out at the nearest figure, a brown-haired girl with a familiar-looking blue blade in her hands. The beams crackled as they crashed together. They traded a few more blows, and he drove her back fairly quickly; it was clear that she was not very experienced at lightsaber combat. He was just preparing to strike an overhead blow that would shear through her defenses when suddenly a blaster bolt whizzed by them, nearly striking him in the shoulder. "Hold your fire!" He shouted, turning slightly towards the troops behind him. His opponent thought to use this distraction to her advantage and swung a backhand blow at him, but he easily parried and drove her back again.

He was vaguely aware of his uncle and sister trading blows with Kylo Ren, but soon he had to turn all his attention back to the matter at hand. Things became much more difficult when his cousin and the alternate version of his uncle joined the fight, swinging their lightsabers rather aggressively towards him. Caedus blocked frantically, and his other opponent tried once again to get a blow in, but he simply pushed her aside using the force.

Things only got worse then the _Anakin Solo_ finally crashed into the surface of the planet.


	4. Chapter 4

Alternatives

Chapter 4

As soon as Luke saw Kylo Ren activate that strange lightsaber with it's flame-like blade and cross-guard, he knew he was in for a fight. From what he had been told about the owner's temperament, there was no real way to avoid it at this point.

Luke activated his lightsaber in response, and all around him he heard the sound of it being echoed by others. Before the last blade had even been bared, Kylo Ren leapt across the room, reaching him with astounding speed. Calmly, but quickly, he raised his blade to block the ferocious blow that came raining down upon him. The force of that blow alone nearly knocked the saber out of his hands right then and there.

Thankfully, he was able to hold out. Then he tried out some strikes of his own, much more lightly, testing his opponent's defenses. The masked figure blocked each of them easily. As they fought, Jaina joined in, her purple lightsaber swinging in towards their target.

Just before they hit, the dark-sider pushed Luke back roughly using the Force, making him stumble a bit. At the same time, he moved his lightsaber to block Jaina's blade.

Luke pushed back in, hitting harder this time, trying to find some way past his foe's defenses. Each blow was blocked, but with each blow he learned a bit more about his opponent. Unfortunately, what he was learning was not particularly pleasing; Kylo Ren seemed very skilled, and not much could get past him. Still, with three Jedi against him alone, they were sure to get in a good hit eventually.

During a lull in the fighting, Luke looked out the hangar bay doors. What he saw was not encouraging. They were hurtling towards the surface of the Sullust, falling fast enough that there were flames surrounding the opening he looked through. Thankfully the shielding around the door kept the flames out, but it would do them no good if they crashed into the planet below. He also noticed that Fin was nowhere to be found.

His thoughts were cut off as his opponent aimed a savage thrust at his torso. He blocked it, but just barely, and he could feel the heat off the blade as it passed. He started making more attacks of his own, downward swings and backhand blows intended to end the fight quickly. But it was to no avail; everything he threw at his enemy was blocked, albeit with some difficulty.

Not even the most powerful Jedi could have stopped the star destroyer from hitting the planet's surface. So eventually it did, with a resounding crash that shook the whole ship. Luke was thrown off his feet, falling sideways to the sound of rending metal and shattering transparisteel. Crates and cargo and even ships fell around him, and for a second he was just suspended there in mid air, everything floating around him. Then he hit the wall, and knew no more.

* * *

Darth Caedus slowly peeled himself off of the floor, gazing grimly at the destruction around him. There were fires everywhere, and the floors were covered in rubble and bodies.

Limping slightly, face given a strange orange glow by the light of the fires, glancing around warily, he made his way over to Kylo Ren, who was lying prone on the floor. As he walked he noticed that many of the bodies wouldn't be getting back up. It was a blessing of the Force that he was even alive, although something told him that it wasn't just a coincidence.

His compatriot was unconscious, but still breathing. Using the Force to heal him a bit, Caedus was able to get the other back awake fairly quickly. As he awoke, he looked around at the destruction around him, and then turned to the Sith Lord. "We need to get to the bridge and get some support here."

"What, and just leave them?" Caedus asked.

Kylo Ren simply nodded in response, then walked over to one of the very few stormtroopers who were still standing. The trooper saluted as he approached. "Watch those bodies, and make sure they don't get back up," He said. As the soldier walked off to do this, Caedus lead the way back to the bridge.

Deeper into the ship, things weren't quite as bad, although there was still pretty clear evidence of the crash. In some places panels had fallen away, revealing bundles of wires, the microscopic entrails of a gigantic beast. In some places they found officers and stormtroopers trying to get themselves and each other to safety. In others they just found cadavers they had to step over.

The sight pained Darth Caedus. This ship was his, and to see it die around him was not pleasant in the slightest. Not to mention it was all he had left of his younger brother, whose name it bore. He had turned his back on the light side of the Force long ago, and his family with it. And yet he still cared for them on some level, still wanted to remember them, to remember what he had forsaken.

But there was no turning back now. So he walked on in the darkness, sparks flying around him, descending further and further into the corpse of his little brother's legacy.

* * *

Luke came to a while later. When he did, he had to take a few minutes to gain his bearings. Thankfully, that was about all he had to do; his back hurt, and his head as well, but that was about it, no lasting damage. As he waited for the room to stop spinning, he noticed on some level that Darth Caedus and Kylo Ren were nowhere to be seen. While this realization was concerning, it was not necessarily the most urgent matter at hand. First, he needed to deal with the blaster being pointed in his face.

Thrusting one hand out, he used the Force to push the stormtrooper back into a wall. With the other hand, he pulled out his lightsaber and activated it. The trooper was knocked unconscious, but there were several others still standing. Blocking the blaster bolts they sent his way, he ran towards the nearest, taking him out fairly quickly. He was able to deal with the rest in short order; killing those he had to, incapacitating those he could. Soon there were none left standing, and he could deal with the next order of business: finding the rest of the strike-force.

Fortunately, he found most of his squad-mates unharmed and was able to get them back up again. However, Red Squadron was not quite as lucky. All of the other members of the two squadrons who had been present had been Force-users, and that afforded them some protection against physical damage. Fin, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

They found him buried under a pile of crates, bruises all over his body. It looked as though he had been hiding behind the crates when they had fallen in on him. He was still breathing, but it was somewhat labored. They managed to get the crates off and apply some bacta, but it clearly wasn't going to make the problem go away.

"We need to get him back to the rest of the fleet," Luke's counterpart said. We can't do anything more for him, but they can." He pulled out his comlink. "Jade Two, Red Two, this is Red Leader. Jade Two, Red Two, come in."

Han's voice crackled in over the comlink. "I hear you, Luke. What's the situation?"

"I need an immediate med-evac over here. We're in the starboard hangar bay of the _Anakin Solo._ "

"Got it. We're on our way. Jade Two out." As Luke Skywalker finished his conversation, Fin regained consciousness.

"Where… where is Luke- I mean… my Luke, Red Leader…?" Luke called him over, and he knelt next to the fallen soldier. "I'm sorry, sir… I failed… I just couldn't face Kylo Ren again; I ran and hid… like a coward… I'm so sorry…" Fin struggled for breath.

The leader of his squad made a soft shushing sound, trying to calm him down a bit. "It's ok. Just rest now. We're going to get you help now, ok?"

Fin nodded, seeming to have been put at ease by this. Sighing softly, he laid his head back and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, the _Millennium Falcon_ landed in the managed to get him on-board and to the med-bay safely. Once they had done this, the freighter flew off to join up with friendly forces, while the other version of it stayed behind to provide further support.

As they watched the _Falcon_ fly off, Jaina turned to the others. "So what now? Should we go find Caedus and take him out?"

"No," Luke Jade Skywalker said, "I sense that he will come to us soon enough. For now, we hold this position. While we wait, incapacitate any First Order troops who survived the crash, but don't kill them unless you have no other choice." The others agreed, and soon they got to work.

* * *

Once they got to the bridge, Darth Caedus and Kylo Ren were able to get the communications systems working fairly quickly. The place was a wreck, but it wasn't quite as bad as some of the places they had seen on the ship. In fact, some parts of the ship closer to the prow had been completely obliterated.

As soon as they got the holoprojector working, they made a call to Supreme Leader Snoke. Kylo Ren began to speak as soon as the image came up. "Supreme Leader, the _Anakin Solo_ is down. We need immediate support."

"Is that so?" The figure asked. "What has become of the group of attackers I was informed about shortly after our last discussion?"

"They got away, sir," he said. "We would have subdued them in the hangar, but Darth Caedus told the troops to hold their fire. Thanks to him and his incompetence, they managed to leave the battle unscathed."

Snoke turned to the other dark-sider. "Is this true, Lord Caedus? Did you hold the stormtroopers back from attacking?"

"They-"

"I don't care about what they did," He snapped. "What I asked was, is this true?"

"Yes, Supreme Leader," Caedus confirmed sullenly.

"My lord," Kylo Ren interrupted, "I sense that the enemy is still aboard what remains of the ship- still alive, somehow. We could still destroy them while we have the chance."

Snoke nodded slowly. "Yes, you're right. Darth Caedus, this is a perfect opportunity for you to redeem yourself. Go now, and destroy the Jedi."

Caedus bowed, then swiftly and silently left the room.

* * *

Luke and the others were just finishing up the work of subduing the First Order troops when Darth Caedus came bursting into the room like a storm, the air literally whipping around him like gale-force winds. As he kept walking towards them, lightsaber in hand and activated, some of the nearby crates even lifted into the air and flew towards his targets.

Slightly caught off-guard, the Jedi struggled to stop the containers in mid-air. They all caught them before they hit their mark, but most of them were just barely able to. As Caedus continued to move towards them, several more lightsabers were activated, including the one belonging to Kylo Ren, who had walked in behind Caedus. The crates fell at that point as well, as the minds keeping them in the air shifted their focus towards each other.

The Sith Lord raised his hand, and as he did a bolt of Force lightning shot from it. Electrical energy arcing out from his fingertips, he directed the lightning at his cousin, Ben. Ben barely caught it in time, catching it on the blade of his lightsaber and using his own Force powers to dissipate the energy.

Ceasing the flow of electricity, he turned his still raised hand towards Rey. Then he made a pinching motion with his fingertips, and suddenly she rose into the air. Unable to speak, she started grasping at the air around her neck, dark bruises appearing on the skin.

"No!" Jaina shouted, running towards her brother with lightsaber raised. "You're not hurting anyone else! I won't let you!" When she reached him she sent a mighty downwards swing at his head. He blocked it, though, almost casually, with his own saber. Then he sent a blow of his own towards her midsection; she batted it aside, but just barely.

Luke was about to try and help them when all of a sudden Kylo Ren came in from his right flank. In a manner strangely reminiscent to Jaina, he sent an overhead swing soaring down towards Luke, who managed to stop it a few inches from his face.

Gathering his strength, Luke pushed back, sending his opponent's saber up high. Then, using his empty hand, he used the Force to send a massive blow to the dark-sider's chin. The shock threw his head back, and the rest of his body followed as he crumpled to the floor. The blow also caused his mask to come flying off, revealing his face for everyone to see.

* * *

As soon as Darth Caedus saw Kylo Ren's face, things became much more clear to him.

He could see the familial resemblance. He had some of the same features as Han Solo and Leia Organa. But beyond that, he could also tell through the Force. He could sense that this was Anakin Skywalker's grandson. He could sense who his parents were. And although he couldn't entirely explain the phenomena, he could tell that this person was just another version of himself. That was why he had seemed so familiar; when Caedus had sensed Kylo Ren through the Force, he had been essentially sensing himself.

Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted when Jaina saw his distraction and took the opportunity to swing her lightsaber into his shoulder. He was able to catch her blade on his own, but not before it cut through his flesh, sending searing pain through his neck, arm and chest. He gasped in pain, and then used the Force to push her back into a nearby wall.

Stumbling a bit, he nearly failed to fend off his cousin's next attack. Kylo Ren had gotten back up, but was having trouble defending himself against the attacks aimed against him. Things were looking fairly grim, until the First Order shuttle came and landed in the hangar. Seeing the opportunity to escape with his life, he pushed through his opponents and dashed to the shuttle, his counterpart following close behind.

However, their enemies were following just as closely. As he reached the landing ramp, he whirled around just barely catching Luke's blade on his own. He yelled for the pilot to take off, and soon the engines roared to life and they started to take off. Although it was clear this would not dissuade the Jedi; his sister was just getting ready to jump onto the ramp he and his compatriot were standing on when he made his decision.

With a single quick, graceful motion, Darth Caedus slid his lightsaber through Kylo Ren's back.


	5. Chapter 5

Alternatives

Chapter 5

 _A note to the reader:_

 _I do not always write notes in my stories, but I feel as though an apology is required here for anyone who was following my story before the unexpected hiatus I took. You have my deepest apologies, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story._

Luke watched helplessly as his nephew drove the blade of his lightsaber through Kylo Ren's back.

The red beam was switched off mere seconds after, and the wounded dark-sider crumpled to the floor. Or rather, he started to, before Darth Caedus used the Force to lift him up and hurl him across the room. He slammed against a wall on the far side of the room, falling like a rag doll to the ground.

Luke hesitated, despite the fact that he knew time was a commodity he could not afford at the moment. He knew this was a ploy, a desperate attempt on Caedus' part to lure them away. And yet at the same time he knew that it was his duty to help the helpless, even if that helpless person was his enemy. Not to mention the fact that capturing Kylo Ren alive rather than dead would be a great victory for the New Republic.

Regardless, the decision was being made for him. The wings of the shuttle unfolded into flight position, and it began to take off. Frustrated, he turned and ran towards the fallen Force-user. His companions followed him as well, looking slightly confused at this new turn of events, but following his lead.

As soon as they got to him, Luke put binders on Kylo Ren's wrists, hoping against all hope that it would be enough to restrain him should he wake up. Incongruously, the next thing he did was start trying to heal him. It appeared to be working, but then Rey stopped him by grabbing his hand. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked, in an almost scolding tone. "He's an enemy! He killed Han! Why are you healing him?"

Luke jerked his hand out from her grasp. "He's not just some enemy. Not only was he Han's son, he's also a valuable captive for the New Republic. Even if you refuse to give him your compassion, you must realize that he's worth a lot more to us alive than dead. Which is why you should be helping me heal this wound."

She glared at him with eyes that could have melted durasteel. "You wouldn't have said that if you had seen him kill your friend before your very eyes."

Luke chose not to respond to that. Instead, after a brief pause, he turned on his comlink. "Red Two, do you read?"

Chewbacca growled in response on the other end. "We need an extraction for the rest of us here," Luke said, "Plus one other." When the wookiee growled questioningly, Luke just replied, "Never mind who, just get us out of here!"

Soon the sound of engines filled the hangar as the _Millennium Falcon_ landed. Once the boarding ramp was down everyone rushed in, eager to get away before more stormtroopers came. Luke entered carrying Kylo Ren, and immediately went to go take him to the med bay. A few minutes later, they had taken off again and were back on their way to the New Republic.

* * *

Darth Caedus seethed with rage as he made his way to the shuttle cockpit. The outlook of his situation was undeniably grim. He had no ship other than this one, most of his original men were most likely dead, and because of his decision with Kylo Ren, his alliance with the First Order was pretty much doomed. Still, he wasn't going down without a fight.

He walked into the cockpit calmly and quietly, but the pilot still heard him somehow. The First Order officer turned around and started to ask a question. He never finished it; the Sith Lord's lightsaber silenced him. Once the headless body had stopped convulsing, Caedus kicked it out of the chair it had been sitting in and sat down to fly the ship before it started to drift off course.

As he flew, he saw the ruin of his ship from the outside. The damage looked just as bad from out there. About half of the _Anakin Solo_ had been completely obliterated, and shards of mangled durasteel were littered all over the ground. Patches of flame completed the hellish landscape, lighting the tableau with an eerie glow.

He glared grimly out the cockpit at this broken scene. He swore that he would get revenge on the ones who had done this. But first, he had to find a place to regain his strength. So he set a course for the Sith homeworld of Korriban.

* * *

Chewbacca did not react well to finding out about their new "guest".

As soon as he walked into the med bay and saw the one who had killed his best friend lying there in the bed, the wookiee flew into a fit of unbridled rage. He roared and rammed into Luke, pushing the Jedi up against the nearest wall and keeping him pinned there by the neck.

The wookiee's reaction created pure chaos. Everyone was trying to calm him down and keep him from killing Luke, for obvious reasons. But once that threat was out of the way, people started realizing the gravity of the situation.

"So wait, why is it that we're saving this guy and not executing him?" Jaina asked. "From what I've heard, he's just as bad as Caedus. Why not get rid of the threat?"

"Because he could be useful to us. And because I think he can still be saved," Luke answered.

His counterpart, the Luke from Kylo Ren's own universe, seemed to agree. Rey, however, did not. "So wait, let me get this straight," She replied. "The guy who killed your wife is evil and needs to be destroyed, but you're perfectly fine with saving this guy's life even though he's just as bad? Jade, you're refusing to see logic!"

"My name isn't Jade," Luke retorted, "It's Luke Jade-Skywalker. And I am thinking logically. If you were a true Force-user, you would be able to sense that Darth Caedus is a much larger threat."

Rey blushed a bit, looking absolutely furious. It was then that her teacher finally decided to speak up. "Don't talk to her that way," he scolded. "We need to remain calm and level-headed. Dark-side emotions, like fear and anger, the ones we're experiencing right now… they can be very addictive. Those kinds of emotions are exactly what lead the people we're fighting over to the Dark-side. If we allow ourselves to be influenced by them, it could be disastrous."

The others reluctantly agreed. "So what do you suppose we do, then?" Jaina asked.

"I say we lock him up and never let him see the light of day again," Rey proclaimed, but she amended her statement after a mild glare from both versions of Luke. "I mean… I think we should send him to a prison. One with high security."

Ben mulled it over a bit before responding. "I'm not sure we can trust him with average New Republic guards. I say we have some of our own guard him. Jedi, I mean."

There were a few nods of assent, but some heads shaken in denial as well. "If we have him guarded by Jedi," Jaina pointed out, "We'll have less people to stand against Caedus when we next encounter him. That could make our main priority a lot more difficult."

Despite Jaina's complaints, most of them ended up agreeing to the plan of keeping the prisoner under guard by Jedi. Eventually Luke Jade-Skywalker spoke up again. "I think Ben is right. We should keep him under guard by Jedi. But I don't think that means those Jedi will be completely out of the fight." The others looked at him quizzically. "I suppose what I mean," He continued, "Is that we should allow him to participate in the fight against Darth Caedus. At this point, he has just as much reason to hate him as any of us do, if not more. And I think that allowing him to participate may bring him back to the light."

A ripple of shock pulsed through the group. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Rey proclaimed. Then she simply turned and left the room. Her mentor went to go console her, while the others stayed behind to continue their discussion. "Are you sure about this, Dad?" Ben asked with a look of concern on his face.

Luke bowed his head slightly, sighing. His age really seemed to have caught up with him, in that moment. "No. I'm really not."

* * *

Dust flew up from the rocky surface of Korriban as Darth Caedus' shuttle landed, swirling and whipping about. The ship touched down gently, and anyone watching would have seen the skill of the pilot clearly displayed in his landing. However, there was no one around for kilometers. In fact, there wasn't much of anything at all, save the mountains and ruins scattered across the planet's surface.

Once he had landed, Caedus lowered the landing ramp, pulled his hood up over his head, and walked out of the shuttle. He found himself in a canyon, more of a large crevice in the rock than anything. Cliffs loomed around him dramatically, and cast shadows so deep that it was as though he was in a cave. He started to walk, slowly and cautiously looking for a way out. As he did, the shadows seemed to move about, swirling like mist, but when he looked straight in any given direction there was no movement to speak of.

He moved forward, slowly but also resolute and unwavering. With each step the shadows seemed to grow darker and darker, and the dust under his feet seemed to shift and writhe. He tried his best to ignore it, instead thinking on the events at hand and those yet to come. He wondered what he would find here, if anything. He wondered how close the Jedi were to finding him. He wondered why the shadows seemed to be moving closer and closer towards him.

Shaking himself mentally, he removed his hand from the hilt of his lightsaber and continued to march forward. Eventually, he did in fact find something. Not a way out, but something useful nonetheless. Carved into the rock a few miles from where he landed was a large stone doorway, presumably leading to the tomb of some long-forgotten minor Sith Lord. The shadows seemed to congeal around it like clotting blood, though they were not quite so frightening to him now. A pair of large stone statues marked the doorway to the crypt, and there were some antiquated archeology tools scattered around it from some dig that had been long since abandoned.

He tentatively pushed the door open, and having noticing that it was too dark to see inside, activated his lightsaber in order to cast some light upon the features within. The red glow gave a ghastly tint to the objects inside; urns mostly, strewn about the entryway. As he walked in, however, he noticed more movement. At first he took it to be the shadows playing tricks on him again, until the figure lurched out into the light cast by his weapon.

It was an old Sith combat droid, attempting to fire it's malfunctioning blaster at him. He lazily swatted it aside with his blade, slicing it clean in two. However, as he did so a blaster bolt came out of the darkness, narrowly missing him, and more droids appeared from behind the one he had just dispatched.

The Sith Lord sighed in frustration. It was going to be a long search.

* * *

By the time Kylo Ren woke up, they already had him strapped down so that he could not move anything aside from his head. According to Rey, it was a very similar set-up to that which the dark-sider had used to confine her when he had captured her. In order to make sure he wouldn't manage to escape the same way she had, they made sure to keep at least one member of Red Squadron or Jade Squadron watching him at all times.

When he did wake up, however, there was a split second where Luke Jade-Skywalker doubted that the restraints would actually hold him. Where he doubted his decision. Seeing the rage that contorted his captive's face, he felt a small twinge of fear in his chest. Small, but painfully real. However, the bindings held, and for the moment he was able to alleviate the effects of those doubts, if not get rid of them entirely.

"Where am I?" Kylo Ren growled. "What did you do to me?"

"Aside from saving your life? Not much," Luke replied as casually as he could. "You're incredibly lucky, you know. My nephew's lightsaber barely missed your spinal cord. If it hadn't, you would never have walked again, if you had even lived."

"Your… Nephew?" It took a few seconds for Luke to place the confusion in his voice. But it didn't take long at all for him to figure out that Kylo Ren had even less knowledge of what was going on than he did. Quickly and concisely, he explained what he knew.

There was a brief silence after he finished the explanation, one that the captive finally broke. "So why haven't you killed me yet?" He asked.

"Well, as I told the others, because I think you're worth saving," Luke responded. "I think that you want to kill Darth Caedus just as much as we do. And I think that there's still some good in you, like there was in my father."

Kylo Ren spat on the ground near Luke's feet. "You honestly think that? Darth Vader was the ultimate Sith Lord! He knew no fear, nor mercy, only hatred and destruction! And I intend to follow in his footsteps!"

Luke looked him over slowly, a far-off look in his eyes. "Do you know how your grandfather died?"

He seemed a bit caught off guard by this question, but quickly tried to conceal his shock. "He was killed by the Jedi. By Luke Skywalker, to be exact."

The Jedi shook his head. "No, that's not right at all. He died saving me from the Emperor. Your grandfather- my father- died a Jedi, and a hero."

There was no concealing the shock this time. "He died… saving you? Really?" Luke nodded slowly, and Kylo Ren's expression softened. "Well I suppose… maybe there are other ways to follow in his footsteps. I will fight with you against Darth Caedus."

Luke smiled broadly. "Here, I'll help you get those restraints off," He said, not noticing the ripples in the Force being directed towards him.

Once they were off, the dark-sider was smiling as well. "You're not the only one who can lie, you know," he said as he used the Force to slam Luke back against the wall.

* * *

After what had to have been about three days of searching, Darth Caedus finally found what he was looking for. He hadn't fought the whole way there, and he had been fortunate to have field rations stored in his utility belt, but those were small comforts in comparison to the fact that he must have destroyed at least half a hundred individual droids and encountered twice as many traps to get to this point, not all of which had left him unscathed. But there he was, standing victorious and alive in the place of death.

As he walked through the archway, bleeding and burned in too many places to count, he found himself in a large, domed chamber with a ceiling many meters above his head. There was a pedestal in the center of the room with a small chest on it, and a bridge leading up to it, but otherwise a seemingly bottomless pit seemed to be the dominating feature of the room.

Cautiously, he walked across the bridge, ready to react to another trap at any second. Sure enough, when he had just about reached the halfway point, it fell away from beneath his feet. Before it had crumbled entirely, he jumped, using the Force to push himself across the chasm and onto the other side.

Brushing himself off, he turned towards the chest. Wary of any extra measures to hinder his progress- or take his life- he telekinetically opened the box and peered inside. When he saw what was held within, he could not keep a grim smile from spreading across his face.

Inside the chest, he found a small, red object in the shape of a triangular prism. It appeared to be made of deep, blood red glass, and cast a ruddy glow across the whole chamber. He honestly hadn't been sure he would find one here, but there it was, right in front of him.

A Sith holocron.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

For the most part, things had not gone well from there. Kylo Ren had not exactly been any more cooperative during their next few conversations. Luke had been able to get him back into his cell relatively easily with the help of the other Jedi stationed outside. After that, it had been a long, difficult struggle getting him to cooperate, but there appeared to be some hope now. He had seemed much more pleasant in the past few days, at least in that he hadn't been raving quite as much about how gruesomely he was going to kill them all.

Since then they had always entered the cell in pairs. This time he was joined by Jaina. As the cell door opened, the captive looked up and glowered at the Jedi. Luke simply sat down, greeting the man across from him calmly. "Why do you pretend to treat me so kindly?" the dark-sider growled in response. "It's obvious I'm just a political prisoner here, nothing more."

Jaina hung back politely by the wall, grudgingly letting her uncle do the talking. "That doesn't have to be the case," Luke countered. "We think you could be incredibly helpful as an ally, and if we become certain at some point that you are, in fact, our ally, we'll be happy to set you free and let you join us."

"And if that never happens?"

"We'll just keep you here until it does," Luke replied simply.

The prisoner thought this over for a long while. Earlier on, this wouldn't have happened; he would have come back with some vicious retort or other. However, it was obvious that he was opening up, at least a little bit. Just enough. "What are your conditions?"

"That you remain unarmed and in binders until we face Caedus. That you make no attempt to escape during that time, or else we will make every attempt to stop you from succeeding. And that once we are in battle, you will not attempt to strike anyone down aside from Caedus. Those are the conditions under which you will get your revenge." Luke had given up appealing to the light within Kylo Ren early on.

Another pause. "What will happen to me afterwards?"

"You'll be free to continue working with us. If that's not what you want, we'll still give you a pardon for everything you've done, as long as you promise not to join up with the First Order again. We'll place a tracker on your person so that you can't break that promise without us knowing. Do we have a deal?"

An even longer silence ensued. Long enough for Luke to have doubts. He had terrible, nagging doubts about what he was doing. Could they really control a Force-user this powerful? It seemed like there was a scenario where everything went wrong no matter what they did. This was simply the only acceptable bad idea they had.

Finally, the agony ended, and it was too late to go back. "Fine," Kylo Ren spat, "I'll do it."

"Excellent. I'll come back soon with more details later," Luke said, trying to remain calm and suppress the thoughts that were gnawing away at his mind as he got up and walked out into the hall. As he did, Jaina followed suit, relieved to finally be leaving the cell. "In case you were wondering, you don't need to tell me what a bad idea this is," Luke said once they were well away from the cell block.

"Hey, I wasn't going to say anything," Jaina responded defensively. "Although Rey is still going to have a fit when she hears about this."

"No doubt about that," Luke said, the fatigue seeping into his voice.

Suddenly their comms went off, and when they answered Ben's voice came in over the speakers. "Guys, you're going to want to hear this. We just got a message from Darth Caedus."

* * *

Darth Caedus did not have to wait long for his opponents to arrive.

Kylo Ren was lead in first, and he was rubbing his wrists where the binders had been taken off him. The Sith Lord noticed that the others kept him well in front, making sure they could keep an eye on him. Then there came both versions of Luke, then Ben, Jaina and Rey. They watched him silently from across the chasm.

Caedus stayed where he was, standing in front of the pedestal where he had found the holocron, across the bridge from the others. He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. "You refrained from bringing any other… guests," He stated matter-of-factly. "Good. This is good. You at least have enough respect to honor my requests."

"Yes, we did, now what is it that you want?" Rey asked, clearly on edge.

"The Force can do amazing things, you know," He said slowly, seemingly ignoring her question. "We can use it to move objects without touching them, sense things beyond our normal perception, generate lightning, the list goes on. But what if I told you that it could do even more than that? Like, for example, transporting people to different universes?"

That piqued their interest. "You're saying you know how we got here?" Ben asked cautiously.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," He replied, holding up the holocron he had found in that very room. "I won't bore you with the details of who left this holocron behind, but I will tell you that he studied deeply into the ways in which the Force interacts with our lives and actions. He theorized that when certain events play out in a certain way, the Force can bring people who would not normally meet together in the same place. It's all a bit vague and philosophical, really, but there was one other factor that interested me. He was also very interested in the duality of the Force. He said that this place, in particular, was steeped in both the Light and Dark sides of the Force, and that by combining the powers of two Force-users of the two different alignments, one could theoretically control all aspects of both sides. Including the aspect that brought us all here."

That certainly got a reaction out of them. "So if I understand correctly, you intend to work with us so that we can all get home?" Luke said, his voice full of hope.

"I never said that," Caedus said as he activated his lightsaber, the light coming off the blade giving a hellish cast to the room. He threw the holocron into the air, and as it fell back towards the ground he sliced it clean in half with his blade. He watched the two pieces spin off into the pit below, then slowly turned his gaze towards his opponents and, after a brief pause, lunged across the gap towards the nearest target; Kylo Ren.

* * *

As soon as the Sith Lord leapt across the chamber, chaos ensued. Everyone knew that they had to spread out, lest a stray lightsaber blow catch them on accident, but there was nowhere to spread out to, save the way they had come. And so they turned back, running through the hall towards the nearest chamber. All except Kylo Ren, who simply activated his own blade and met his opponent's with it, the two crimson beams crashing together with a sound like thunder.

Luke Jade-Skywalker was the second one in the room, and as soon as he entered he whirled around and activated his lightsaber, ready for a fight. However, he found that he needn't have done so; the two combatants back in the chamber with the pit were entirely focused on one another. He watched, completely amazed and somewhat horrified as the two threw themselves at each other, their blades like lightning flashing out and striking and disappearing again.

As they fought, Luke noticed dust was rising up into the air, swirling around them like a stormcloud. It rose up off the walls, dirt and bits of stone being lifted away and shooting through the air. He realized that they were both trying to use the Force to push the other off the bridge, and the psychokinetic energy was making the dust clouds form.

The two continued to trade blows, furiously trying to break each other's defenses, striking overhand and underhand and everywhere in between. Darth Caedus fought with grace and power, smoothly flowing from one strike to the next, seemingly unhindered by the lack of room for movement. Meanwhile, his counterpart was a whirlwind of pure energy, throwing the absolute brute force of his attacks hurling towards his opponent at blinding speeds.

Suddenly, the whole balance of the battle shifted. The dust floating around Kylo Ren started to move closer towards him, and then there was a ring of it around his neck. Luke realized then that it was because the very air around his neck was contracting; Caedus was choking him to death. The Jedi watched in terror as he stopped moving, and then was lifted up into the air. The Sith Lord had a malevolent grin on his face as he put his lightsaber away and slowly turned, moving his opponent over the edge of the pit as he did so.

Before Luke could even react, there was a blur of movement off to the side. Before he could even fully register what was going on, Jaina was up ahead, plunging her lightsaber into Caedus' back. Even more surprisingly, Rey was there with her, and she kept Kylo Ren from falling into the pit below, even as Jaina removed her lightsaber from the Sith Lord's corpse, which fell over the side and plunged into the chasm below

* * *

Even as his body fell, Darth Caedus' spirit separated from it, floating in the nexus of Force energies surrounding the tomb.

As his force essence floated there, it began to separate from itself as well, the light and the dark becoming two different entities, and Darth Caedus was literally torn in two. And now he wasn't Darth Caedus at all, he was a Jedi, he was Jacen Solo, or at least the light part of him was.

As the pieces of Jacen and Caedus floated there, they sensed another entity in conflict. Far below them, down in the physical realm, there was Ben Solo, and he was struggling as well.

The spirits drew closer…

* * *

Luke Jade-Skywalker and his counterpart approached the younger Jedi just as Rey was setting Kylo Ren down on the bridge. "Are you guys ok?" He asked, mainly focusing on Jaina, who met his concerned gaze calmly enough.

"We're fine," She stated bluntly. It was pretty obvious to Luke that she wasn't entirely telling the truth, but that would most likely have to wait until later.

Kylo Ren turned to Rey and asked the question that was obviously on everyone's mind; "Not that I'm complaining, but… why did you do that?" He inquired.

She, in turn, looked over to her mentor. "Master Luke and I had a bit of a talk about it," She said reluctantly.

The dark-sider nodded, then turned to Luke Jade-Skywalker and the rest of his group. "Well, I suppose it's time for you guys to head home, isn't it?"

This came as more than a bit of a surprise to everyone in the room. "Are… are you saying what I think you're saying?" Luke asked hesitantly, almost afraid that if he believed it then it would cease to be true.

"Of course," The other replied. "I'm the only one here who wields the dark side of the Force who would be willing to help you. And I am willing… I don't know why, but somehow, it just feels right."

The Jedi stared at him, wide-eyed, but certainly didn't protest. As quickly as they could, the two groups said their goodbyes. Jaina gave Rey a quick hug, Luke gave his counterpart a handshake, and Ben Skywalker gave a nod to Ben Solo- for he was no longer Kylo Ren, but Han Solo's son, redeemed and renewed.

Once they had done this, Ben Solo and Luke Skywalker positioned themselves on either side of the pedestal in the center of the chamber, and they started at their work. The two Force-users sat down cross-legged and began to meditate, pouring their energies into the nexus around them, and as they did the pit below them began to glow, blue on Luke's side, red on Ben's side. As the Jedi looked on, the colors began to merge, and soon the whole room was glowing with white light emanating from the chasm below.

After a few minutes of watching this, Jaina asked hesitantly, "Are we supposed to jump down there or something?"

Luke smiled at her. "Only one way to find out," He said, jumping down and disappearing into the light.

* * *

Jacen Solo watched all this happen from Ben Solo's eyes. And as he did, he smiled, knowing that in the end, they had all been redeemed.


End file.
